How I've Been Enriched by Beggars　乞丐的啟示

How I've Been Enriched by Beggars　乞丐的啟示

◎ Marjorie Hamlin

In every man there is a king. Speak to the king, and the king will come forth.

每個人心里都有一位國王。當你想和國王交談時，他就會出現(xiàn)。

Outside our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a seemingly ancient woman on crutches waited beside the door with her hand outstretched. Every day I put my hand in hers as our eyes met. She never failed to return my smile, my grasp, and my greeting.

在越南胡志明市我們住的一家旅館外，有一個看上去很老的女人拄著拐杖等在門外，雙手向外伸著。每天，當我們眼神交匯時，我都會把手放在她的手中。她每次都會以同樣的微笑、握手、問候來回報我的微笑、握手及問候。

On the last day of our visit, I found myself alone on a busy corner across the street from our hotel. Bicycles and motorbikes careened in front of me. We had been advised to walk straight through the teeming traffic without looking right or left. Let them avoid us.

在我們參觀的最后一天，我自己一個人，在旅館對面那條街的一個角落里。自行車和摩托車從我面前飛馳而過。有人建議我們直接穿過擁擠的車輛，不要再左右張望，避免他們撞到我們。

But tonight I was by myself and felt inadequate to face the torrent of vehicles. As I hesitated on the curb, I felt a hand on my elbow and looked down to see the smile of my small beggar friend looking up at me. She nodded her head toward the street, indicating that she would take me across. Together, we moved slowly into the chaos as she gently prodded me forward.

但今晚只有我自己，我感覺自己無力應(yīng)對這急流般的車流。當我正在馬路邊猶豫的時侯，我感到有人拍我的手肘。我向下一看，是我那小乞丐朋友，她正笑瞇瞇地看著我。她朝街對面點點頭，示意她可以帶我過去。她溫和地推著我向前走,我們便一起慢慢地走進嘈雜的車流當中。

When we reached the center of the crossing, I looked down at her again, and couldn’t resist exclaiming, “You have the most beautiful smile.”

當我們到達十字路口的中央時，我又一次低頭看了看她，情不自禁地喊道：“你的微笑最美麗。”

She obviously knew little English, but must have recognized the tone, for she threw both arms and crutches around me in a big hug, while the traffic streamed by us on both sides.

顯然她幾乎不懂英語，但一定是聽出了我的語調(diào)，于是她張開雙臂，扔掉拐杖，給了我一個大大的擁抱，這個時候車輛都被我們涌到兩旁了。

Then we precarious moved on toward the sidewalk, where she pulled my face down to hers, kissed me on both cheeks, and then limped away, still smiling and waving back to me.

然后我倆蹣跚地向人行道走去，她把我的臉拉近她的臉，在我的兩頰上親了親，然后一瘸一拐地走了，還不時地回頭朝我微笑揮手。

I had not given her a single coin. We had shared something vastly more important—a warming of hearts in friendship.

我一分錢都沒有給她。但我們分享了更有意義的東西——友情的溫暖。

This experience reminded me of something Mother Teresa once said, “If you cannot do great things, you can do small things with great love.”

這次經(jīng)歷讓我想起特蕾莎修女曾經(jīng)說過的一句話：“如果你做不了偉大的事情，那就帶著偉大的愛心去做一點小事?！?

To look beggars in the eye and smile, thus acknowledging their existence, is a small thing. Putting your hand into another’s outstretched hand and grasping it firmly for a moment is also a small thing. Learning to use a greeting in the local language is not too difficult. But these are important.

用眼睛和笑容看待乞丐，認同他們的存在，這都是小事情。將你的手放進他人伸出的手中，然后緊緊地握一會兒，這也是一件小事。學會用方言講一句問候語并不困難。但是，這些都很有意義。

For many reasons, giving money is not the best response to an outstretched hand. Many world travelers have discovered that the greatest gift they can give is their time and friendship. Everyone needs recognition, to be seen as worthy of attention, to feel appreciated and loved.

出于多種原因，向乞丐們伸出的手中放錢并不是最好的回應(yīng)。許多環(huán)游世界的旅行者發(fā)現(xiàn)，他們能給予的最好的禮物是時間和友誼。每個人都需要被認可，需要被關(guān)注，被感激以及被愛。

Traveling in poorer nations, I have witnessed a variety of ways to deal with beggars. The most common response of tourists faced with the poverty-stricken is to ignore them and focus their eyes elsewhere. I have seen people push away an outstretched hand in angry annoyance. A few may hastily drop a few coins into a beseeching palm, and then execute a quick getaway in hopes that another 20 ragged pursuers won’t immediately appear on the scene.

在一些窮困的國家旅游時，我目睹了很多種與乞丐打交道的方式。游客們對貧窮最常見的回應(yīng)就是忽視他們，把視線轉(zhuǎn)移到其他地方。我曾見到有人惱怒地推開乞丐伸過來的手。還有一些人或許會匆匆地把一些硬幣丟進哀求的手掌里，然后趕緊逃開，生怕會有其他20個乞丐突然出現(xiàn)在自己眼前。

But I feel it’s worthwhile to try to live by the words of English author John Cowper Powys, “No one can consider himself wholly civilized who does not look upon every individual, without a single exception, as of deep and startling interest.”

但是，我覺得按照英國作家約翰·庫伯·博伊斯所說的那樣去生活是值得一試的，他說：“如果一個人不能毫無偏見地帶著深厚、極大的興趣看待每一個個體，那他就不能自認為是十足的文明人?！?

I once spotted a legless man sitting by a road at the Pushkar Camel Fair in India. I was returning to my tent after recording the exotic music of the dancing men of Pushkar and was replaying the music on my tape recorder. When the man’s smile lured me to join him, we began to communicate in the kind of sign language and laughter one learns while vagabonding around the world.

我曾經(jīng)在印度普虛卡駱駝節(jié)上看見一個沒有腿的人坐在路邊。當時我剛剛錄完普虛卡舞者表演的異域音樂，正要返回帳篷，路上正用錄音機重放著那些音樂。這個人的笑容深深吸引了我坐過去，我們開始用手語和笑聲交談起來。當你周游世界時，這些都是要學會的。

After mimicking the whirling skirts and sticks, I showed him how my tape recorder worked. He motioned for me to give it to him. I hesitated, but only for a moment. After examining it carefully, he began to sing a hauntingly beautiful song, indicating that he wanted me to record it and take it home as a memory of our time together.

模仿過旋轉(zhuǎn)的裙子和棒槌之后，我給他演示了一下我的錄音機是如何工作的。他示意我把錄音機給他看看。我猶豫了一下，但只是一下而已。仔細看過錄音機之后，他開始唱歌，那首歌很動聽，令人難以忘懷，他示意我把歌錄下來，作為我們在一起的時光的記憶。

Moments before, we had been total strangers; suddenly, we were cemented in a momentary friendship born of our common existence in this world. His eyes shone as we exchanged names. My experience with Vidur confirmed the truth of the Scandinavian proverb, “In every man there is a king. Speak to the king, and the king will come forth.”

不久之前，我們是完全的陌生人。突然間，這個世界里共存的關(guān)系，讓我們緊緊相連在一種瞬間的友誼當中。我們互相交換名字時，他的眼睛在發(fā)光。我和韋德在一起的經(jīng)歷驗證了斯堪的納維亞的一句格言：“每個人心里都有一位國王。當你想和國王交談時，他就會出現(xiàn)?！?

I’ve learned that those considered the world’s most hopeless are so often rich in humanity, with hearts yearning to be affirmed—and ready to respond.

我明白了，那些被認為是世界上最無助的人卻是如此的充滿仁慈，他們懷著渴望被認同的心靈——并隨時準備回應(yīng)他人。

My life continues to be enriched by connecting with everyday humanity. Each time I do this, I rediscover that what I have been given is far beyond monetary value. And I reaffirm that everyone is worthy—and worth knowing.

與平凡的人接觸，我的生活一直被他們充實著。每次我這么做時，我都會發(fā)現(xiàn)我所收獲的遠遠超過金錢的價值。我再一次堅信，每個人都是有價值的——并且值得你去了解。

超多雙語閱讀，盡在聽力課堂